Love Story
by TyBass31
Summary: The war has begun and Hermione finds herself in a great deal of trouble and nothing can save her except maybe...love. R/R PLS!
1. Chapter 1

Love Story

**DISCLAIMER:** I own nothing. If I did, well…I wouldn't be very likely to be writing using other people's characters.

**Chapter 1**

Hermione Granger sighed as she settled herself in front of the fireplace at the Order of the Phoenix headquarters. It was strangely quiet. Most of the members were out doing one thing or another. Harry, himself had become the new secret keeper. He'd been chosen because the house was his and he had proven himself immune to the Imperius Curse their fourth year.

She was now eighteen years old. Harry's birthday was in a few weeks. He'd gone back to the Dursley's right after their sixth year had ended. He'd stayed long enough to ensure the spell Dumbledore had placed would renew itself and then he'd left. Packed everything he owned and disappeared from their house without another word to any of them.

"Hermione!" Ron's voice rang out. Hermione sighed as Mrs. Black's voice rang shrilly through the house.

"FILTH! SCUM! DIRTY BLOOD TRAITORS!"

Huffing in annoyance as Ron made his appearance in the front room, Hermione rushed forward to try and close the curtains over the painting. Ron, blushing deeply, helped.

"Sorry," he panted once the curtains were closed. "I keep forgetting about that."

"Honestly, Ron. We've been here long enough for you to remember." He shrugged.

"Old habits…" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Where's Harry?"

"Off with Moody. That's what I came to tell you. Harry thinks that he may have the location of a horcrux." Hermione's ears perked up.

"Let me grab my cloak," she said swiftly moving to walk by him. Ron caught her arm.

"Wait. We need you to stay here." Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"But what if there's something you don't know about the horcrux? What if it's enchanted and it takes the three of us to figure it out. What if-"

"We need you here, Hermione. That way, if something happens, you can tell the others where we are. Here." He reached inside of his cloak and pulled out Sirius' old enchanted mirror. "We'll use this to keep in contact with you." Hermione shook her head.

"I would tell you to get a cell phone but no doubt they wouldn't work where you're going." Ron frowned in confusion.

"A shellepone?" Hermione shook her head.

"No. A cell phone," she said slowly. At Ron's increased frown, she shook her head.

"Forget I said anything. Just be careful. I'll be there in a minute if you need me." Ron nodded and gave Hermione a brief hug.

"See you," he said before walking out of the door. Hermione sighed as it closed with a snap behind him. She looked down at the circular mirror in her hands and shook her head.

"Freaking empty house. If someone else had been here I could go with those two…to help." Sighing again, she went to reclaim her seat by the fire but turned, last minute, to go and find a book. She exited the living room and made her way upstairs to the room she was sharing with Ginny.

After a few minutes of searching, Hermione found a rather thick novel in her trunk. There was no visible title. Hermione shrugged, figuring it would have to do as she had read everything else. She glanced at the spine once more and flushed guiltily. It was from the Hogwarts library. Oh, what Madame Pince must think of her.

Shaking her head, Hermione made her way back downstairs to her seat with the resolute decision that she would read the book and send it back to Hogwarts with a thick letter of apology.

"That's exactly what I'll do," she told herself firmly as she sat down. She put the mirror in her lap and opened the book.

Hermione barely even had time to scream. Before she knew it, the slightly less depressing than before décor of the Black house, had melded into a warm lush house and Hermione was lying in an incredibly comfortable bed staring up into a concerned male face.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Hermione blinked, the change in lighting had been so intense that her eyes were still adjusting. "Are you alright?" he asked again.

"Y-yes," Hermione said slowly. She looked around her.

'_Where am I?_' she wondered. She turned her head back to the person in front of her and almost died of shock. Standing over her was Cedric Diggory, no older than the day he died.


	2. Chapter 2

Love Story

**DISCLAIMER:** I own nothing. If I did, well…I wouldn't be very likely to be writing using other people's characters.

**Chapter 2**

"Whoa!" Hermione shouted and jumped up from the cushy bed she'd been placed in. "Whoa! What are you doing here? Where am I?" She reached for her back pocket, found her wand, and pointed it at him threateningly. Although, she wasn't sure how much damage she could do a ghost. Looking him over wasn't any type of courage booster either. He was looking at her with a faintly bemused expression on his face.

"You're from Hogwarts," he said as though extremely relieved. "Harry Potter's friend, right? Hermione Granger? You went with Krum to the Yule Ball?" Hermione nodded but didn't lower her wand. "Oh thank Merlin. I'm not insane. I have no idea how to answer any of your questions but I've been stuck here since I was killed." Hermione lowered her wand.

"You remember that?" His jaw clenched as his eyes became misty with memories and he nodded.

"Every second."

"H-how?" Hermione asked. "How is this possible? Are you a ghost?" He shook his head.

"No, at least, I don't think I am. All I remember is that I was killed. As soon as my body detached from my soul, I woke up here." He gestured to their rich surroundings and eased himself down on the bed next to Hermione. "They call me Lord Bennett here. I tried to convince them that my name is Cedric and that I'm not sure who this Bennett person is, but everyone here just thinks I'm joking. They laugh it off. I've been here so long I thought that maybe I was just imagining things." He gave Hermione an indecipherable look.

Hermione, for the first time since she saw Cedric, took in his clothing. He certainly had the look of a lord down if nothing else. His clothing, which consisted of the detailed and dandied wear one might find in a Jane Austen novel, was made of thick, rich fabric. His jacket, which Hermione thought must have been constraining as it was so tight, was a dark chocolate which colored magnificently against his peachy skin tone.

"Where is 'here' exactly?" Hermione asked cautiously once she mentally shook herself. Now was not the time to be checking anyone out. Especially a dead anyone. Cedric hung his head and Hermione could see his cheeks turning pink.

"Love Story," he mumbled.

"Pardon?"

"Love Story," he said again, this time a bit louder. Hermione blinked.

"Love Story as in an _actual_ love story? A romance bit?" Cedric raised a hand and rubbed the back of his neck, averting Hermione's eyes.

"Yes," he mumbled again. Hermione's jaw dropped.

"How-?" she began.

"I don't know," Cedric interrupted. "I've read this book before, that's the only way I can think of how I ended up here." Hermione's jaw dropped even lower, if possible.

"_You_ read a romance novel?" she asked incredulously. Cedric nodded with an embarrassed shrug.

"Girls seem to like them," he said defensively. "I'm not that good with them, so I figured if I read a romance novel I could learn what it is exactly that girls want." Hermione blinked.

"Oh," she said. Cedric smiled.

"What about you?" Hermione waved her hands impatiently.

"I didn't even know it was a romance novel. I don't have time for the things. I just grabbed it from my pack, I must've taken it from Hogwarts mistakenly last year and I've only just found it."

"Hogwarts?" Cedric brightened considerably at the sound of his previous school. "How is everyone? The professors? Are the Quidditch teams any good?" Hermione lowered her head.

"Hogwarts is in trouble," she told him softly. "Dumbledore was murdered there last year by Professor Snape."

"Snape?" Cedric looked confused. "There's no way….he was a teacher!"

"Working as a spy for Voldemort," Hermione explained. "He killed Dumbledore at the end of last term. It's been two years since you died, Cedric. A lot has changed."

"No," he seemed to lose color and Hermione felt sorry for him. Not only had he been robbed of his future but he'd also been bound to a book, keeping him from moving on. Now he had to find out about the many changes he could have been there for. "Snape is greasy but he wouldn't-"

"Harry saw it all," Hermione told him quietly. This seemed to clinch it for him. He sat on the foot of the bed, his color draining more every second.

"How-?"

"It's a long story. The short version is that Dumbledore and Harry had been working on something that would help Harry stop Voldemort. Draco Malfoy surprised them and Dumbledore stunned Harry, who had been under an invisibility cloak, so that he wouldn't interfere. Draco Malfoy was supposed to kill Dumbledore but he lost his nerve and Snape showed up and did it for him before leaving the grounds."

"Malfoy? That little blonde kid that was always whining about something or other?" Cedric asked skeptically. Hermione nodded.

"That's the one." Cedric shook his head, his face belying his intense shock as he lowered himself onto the edge of Hermione's bed once more.

"V-Voldemort?" he asked with a thick swallow, not meeting Hermione's eyes.

"Regaining power quicker than we would like," she told him quietly. "We're fighting him, though. Harry's determined that he pay, Cedric. Pay for everything he's ever done. More kids are losing their families; more families are losing their kids. We plan on stopping it." Cedric nodded. His face still oddly drained of all expression. He shook his head.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about anything right now," he said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Hermione said worriedly. "I've got to get out of here." Cedric snorted; something that contrasted greatly with his prince charming image.

"Good luck," he said not unkindly. "I have no idea how to leave this place. I've tried everything I can possibly think of. Nothing seems to work."

"Well, possibly," Hermione said turning a bit pink. "Maybe, because you're…um, dead?" Cedric shrugged as though the thought hadn't occurred to him.

"That's a possibility," he admitted as though his death brought no bad memories forth. Hermione sighed and motioned for Cedric to move from his seat so that she could stand. Once she had done so she lifted her wand once more calling out spell after spell. Nothing worked. Struck by an idea Hermione knocked over a vase on a nearby table.

"And what is breaking that vase going to achieve?" he asked somewhat amused.

"_Reparo!_" Hermione said pointing her wand at the vase. It didn't budge.

"Oh," Cedric said as though that explained everything.

"Magic doesn't work here," Hermione said nearing panic. Another thought struck her and she reached down on the bed next to her frantically scrambling for what she was after. Cedric, at the weird behavior exhibited by Hermione, jumped up.

"What are you doing?" he asked cautiously.

"Searching."

"For?"

"Aha!" Hermione nearly shouted as she grabbed a large, cracked mirror from her side and lifted it level to her face. "Harry Potter!" she said loudly.

_Ron, no! We can't use that spell! Remember what Hermione said about these things? They're cursed. Protected…we'll find another way._

"Harry!" Hermione called into the mirror. She heard scuffling and a second later, the mirror gave her the image of a very confused Harry Potter.

_Hermione? What's going on? What's wrong?_

"We've got a problem," Hermione told him trying to stay calm. "I'm in a book." A voice that could only be Ron's took over.

_When is she not?_

"No," Hermione said trying to keep her temper leashed. "I'm trapped inside of a book I found in my bag…I'm not alone either." This time she heard Moody's voice mix in with Ron and Harry's.

_You're what? Who's with you?_

"Cedric Diggory. Look, I can't explain but somehow I got sucked into this novel and Cedric says he's been here since he died. It's just the two of us in here and magic doesn't work here so I haven't been able to use my wand." Harry frowned before responding. His voice alone for the first time since they'd begun talking.

_But the mirror works._

"I can't explain that," Hermione said nervously. "I'm thinking that maybe because it's linked back to you its magic can stay intact but I'm not sure. Just-just please find a way to get us out of here. I'm honestly at a loss." Harry said nothing but Hermione could tell that by his determined face, he had accepted her plea as his next mission. Horcrux be damned.

_Wait._

The voice wasn't Harry's or Ron's. It was Moody. A second later, his gnarled face and roving magical eye had replaced Harry's comforting features.

_I've heard of this before. Left in the library by one of the founders years ago. Is it a love story?_

Hermione, blushing beet red, nodded.

_We can't get you out of there. You have to do it._


	3. Chapter 3

**Love Story**

**DISCLAIMER:** I own nothing. If I did, well…I wouldn't be very likely to be writing using other people's characters.

**Chapter 3**

"What?" Cedric, speaking for the first time Since Hermione had called out to her friends strode back over to her side and stared into the mirror. "We have to do what?"

_I said you have to do it, kid. It's obviously put you both in there for a reason. Your soul and Hermione's are connected somehow. Once you find out how, you should be able to free yourselves from the novel. Trust me, it's the only way._

"Trust you?" Cedric all but shouted. "You're telling me there's no way you can help us and I've got to trust you? I want a second opinion."

_Look, technically you're already dead so you've got nothing to lose. Just follow along with the story. There will be situations, names, people, and customs you're not familiar with. Just do your best to uphold what people think of you. This story has been prewritten but it can't move on unless you follow the rules. It's the only way. Get to the end and everything will be okay._

With that said, the mirror suddenly went reflective once more and Hermione saw her and Cedric's astonished faces staring back at them.

"So we've got to play along?" Hermione asked although she knew the answer. Moody had just told them and, from her recent experience, he wasn't much of a practical joker.

"Seems that way." He opened his mouth to say more but was interrupted by a short knock and sudden entrance. A thickly bodied woman with dark hair up in a maid's cap came bustling into the room.

"Ah, Miss James, I didn't know you'd arrived," she said with a comforting smile that reminded Hermione of Mrs. Weasley. "Shame on you, sir, for not alerting the staff. We'll have you a bath ready momentarily. Your clothes arrived just moments ago, I was about to place them here for you so they'd be ready when you arrived but you beat them to it!" she said this all in one breath, not pausing between her little interlude with Cedric before turning back to Hermione.

"Um," Hermione said obviously overwhelmed. "Who's Miss James?" she whispered to Cedric. He leaned over.

"I'm guessing you," he whispered back. Hermione nodded.

"Thanks," she smiled at the older woman.

"No need to thank me, miss. I'm here to help. I'll alert you once your bath is ready. Where may I ask did the strange clothing come from? I've never seen such robes." Hermione's eyes widened as she realized she was wearing her witch's cloak over jeans and a t-shirt. The house had been drafty and she'd put it on for extra warmth.

"It's my new traveling cloak. A gift from a friend," she smiled ensuring her robes were closed tightly over her clothes.

"Would you like me to put it away for you?" the woman asked pleasantly.

"No! I mean, no, thank you. Um, I'm a little cold at the moment." Not true but the last thing she needed to do was explain why she was wearing clothes that had yet to technically be invented if she was correct.

Cedric snorted and covered his mouth in a vain attempt to muffle it. Hermione glared at him as the women turned away to leave. She opened her mouth to respond when the woman turned back to them.

"Such a pleasure to have you visiting, ma'am. Especially since this will soon be your home permanently." Hermione's mouth snapped shut.

"Excuse me?" she asked croakily.

"Why, you don't have to be coy with me, miss," the woman said with a secretive smile. "I know about the marriage you two will join in soon. A few months time is what I was told. Welcome to the family, miss." With this, she turned and left the room. Hermione turned her astonished face back to Cedric's ashen one.

"We're going to be married?" she hissed.

"Apparently," Cedric responded quietly.

"To each other?"

"Apparently."

"And there's no way out of it?"

"…apparently."

"Will you say something else for goodness sake?" Hermione said angrily pushing at his large chest. "I mean I've just been sucked into this novel with you and immediately told that whoever you and I are supposed to be will be married in a few months! Do you not find that in the least bit extraordinary?" Cedric shrugged.

"We've got to play along," he told her honestly. "It's the only way to get out of here. Now, you stay here and do whatever it is you were supposed to be doing while I go sniff around for some information about our situation." He strode past Hermione without a second glance and left her alone in the large room.

Hermione stared at her surroundings as the door clicked shut behind her. She could feel her face contorting in anger and frustration as she fought her emotions. Finally, she opened her mouth to the empty room.

"Son of a…"


End file.
